Trump has alienated the EU, made NATO a laughing stock, and threatened to invade friends.

Before Trump, America was like the Big Brother that used to help us all survive the bullies in the playground.

But then that Big Brother turned mean, and started threatening to bash us up while stealing our lunch money!
Big Brother is unstable. This instability will make him sick, and weaker.

Everyone has turned to the Little Brother, China, for protection from the unstable Big Brother.
Little Brother trades favours, and protects our lunch money.

Soon it will be Little Brother's turn to rule the playground.
We just don't trust the Big Brother any more. He's too unstable.

Besides, a coalition of us little guys stood up to him recently - and he's all hot air.
We just don't believe him any more. He's a joke!

Big bullies come and go. We've seen it before. This guy is on the way out. It's time.

Dan,

I would be cautious. Many people hear the word "law" and automatically think in terms of rules they have to follow.

An alternative view of increasing faith might be seen by differentiating between saving faith (trusting in the gospel Eph 2:8-9, 1Cor 15"1-4) and a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22).

The use of the word "fruit" with the work of the Holy Spirit implies a growth. Here the increase is not so much a matter of trying harder, but of not interfering with.

Consider the interesting verse in James.

Jas 4:6 But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.

This seems to tell us that there is a principle that if we do not bring ourselves into alignment with God, we are unable to fully receive his grace. For Christians this alignment is in two parts. The first is to trust in the gospel enough to be saved. The second part is to let the Holy Spirit increase his "fruit" (including faith) in us.

Galatians chapter five details how we frustrate the work of the Holy Spirit by walking after the flesh (including pride). One might see that increasing in faith is a result of the work of the Holy Spirit as he is allowed as we stop walking in the selfishness of the flesh.

GoldenBoy89 said:

Yeah or they know they’d have a bloody mess on their hands if they approached Texans the same way they’re approaching Minnesotans. It’s the same reason they’ve conveniently avoided conducting their operations in any known gang territory around the country. They’re not dumb. They know where they’ll be met with armed resistance.

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Daily ICE arrests in Texas have jumped from an average of 85 per day during the final 18 months of the Biden Administration to 176 per day in the first six months under Trump, according to a Tribune analysis.

BobRyan said:

Are you familiar with Righteousness by faith?

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I believe so, are you familiar with Paul's writings concerning it?
We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[d] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
But if, in seeking to be justified/righteous in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker. Gal2:15&18

Justification/righteousness is instantaneous when a person gets saved, the justification Paul is writing about in verse17 clearly takes time to be seen, what justification is he writing about?
Why does he ask the question: ''Doesn't that mean that Christ promotes sin?
And what does he mean when he states: ''Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.''
Thanks

Firstlightdawn said:

God made them male and female at the beginning on day one, not day six. Notice the male is listed first because the female comes from the male. Of course that was when they were "without form and void."

1 Corinthians 11:12 — “As the woman is from the man, even so the man also is through the woman; but all things are from God.”

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Sorry, but where do you find in Genesis that God made them male and female at the beginning on day one? The description of What God did on Day One is:

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.”

“Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was] good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.” (Ge 1:1-5 NKJV)

So there, we see the heavens and the earth, and light created, and darkness divided from light. Nothing about male and female, or even human beings. And it was the earth that was without form and void, not the man and the woman.

Good.

Now it's time for Homeland Security to end their blatent hypocrisy on this exact issue.
Homeland Security.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens.. in America’s schools and churches.."

Why destroy America? Answer: Utopia.

In a world of "equal", there is no room for better. The only way "better" arrives is via cheating. The cheaters need to be dragged down. This will eliminate poverty and war, and usher in the new utopia.

Wait. How does that work? You have your logic, and I have mine. It just works.

Sounds pretty religious to me.

Here is a Grok AI summary of the transcript:

Key points from the episode:

• Introduction and source of the clip — Ellison credits his sister for sending him a segment from the Mark Levin show (2013 replay of the 2003 Lamm speech). He describes Lamm as a pre-"crazy" era Democrat (governor 1975–1987), contrasting him with modern Democrats.
• Context of Lamm's speech — Delivered in October 2003 at an event for Victor Davis Hanson's book on immigration and cultural issues in California/Mexico border regions. Lamm presented it satirically as "my plan to destroy America" if one wanted to weaken the nation.
• Lamm's 8-point "plan" (quoted/played in the episode):
  1. Make America bilingual/bicultural — no such country lives in peace; leads to tension/civil war.
  2. Invent multiculturalism — declare all cultures equal, discourage judgment; replace melting pot with salad bowl (keep separate identities).
  3. Make the fastest-growing demographic the least educated — create/add to an unassimilated, undereducated, antagonistic underclass; high dropout rates.
  4. Get big foundations/businesses to fund ethnic identity, victimology, and grievance industry — blame majority for failures.
  5. Develop dual citizenship — promote divided loyalties (e.g., vote in both U.S. and home country elections).
  6. Make criticism taboo — label opponents "racist" to silence debate.
  7. Make immigration laws unenforceable — repeat mantra that immigration was good in the past, so it always will be.
  8. Censor critics — e.g., call Hanson's book dangerous and suppress it.
• Ellison's interpretation and claims — He asserts this satirical warning has become reality under Democrats:
  • Bilingual/bicultural push (e.g., no English mandate, foreign flags waved).
  • Shift from melting pot to salad bowl, leading to division, hyphenated identities, caucuses, and hatred/envy.
  • Under-educated groups (e.g., inner cities, some immigrant communities) kept ignorant for control.
  • Funding from Soros, unions, NAACP, etc., for victim narratives and open borders.
  • Dual loyalties weakening national unity.
  • Taboo on criticism via labels like racist, homophobe, etc.; judgment discouraged.
  • Immigration enforcement made impossible; past good immigration used to justify current policies.
  • Suppression of dissenting voices (though Ellison claims platforms like X, Rumble, Truth Social resist it now).
• Current events tie-in — Ellison links it to recent events (e.g., government shutdown threats over immigration, illegal immigrants' influence/power, marches demanding benefits, military pay issues). He contrasts this with historical assimilation (Italians, Germans, etc.) and criticizes Democrats for prioritizing non-citizens over long-term Americans (e.g., referencing Black American history since 1808).
• Broader commentary — Democrats consist of "ignorant, crazy, and evil" people; educated ones are "evil." This is a decades-long, intentional plan (not organic). Trump disrupted it (border security, defunding NGOs, etc.), putting Democrats in retreat. Ellison urges pursuit to destroy their influence, calls for no more tolerance of leftist policies (grooming, etc.), and promotes his website/book/merch (The End of Tolerance at vinceeverettellison.com).
• Closing call to action — Like/share/subscribe to resist censorship; patriots are the majority and can't be stopped; God bless.

The episode is highly polemical, portraying Lamm's ironic speech as a literal blueprint Democrats followed to "destroy" America through immigration and cultural policies.

bling said:

It is wonderful to have someone else to blame for our sins: The devil made me do it,

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This was a big joke for Flip Wilson. He would dress up like a women and says:
"The devil made me do it!" People would laugh and laugh.
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Again, the "tithe" was to support the Levites. The Priesthood of Aaron collected the tithes to support the Levites (Numbers 18:28). And Levites weren't driving around in their personal cars or private jets let alone living it up wealthily.
But anybody else money isn't mine.

Let's say you've gotten a job and your supervision gives you a task that you really do not want to do. This thing is awful, puts you in isolation and will require a long time - perhaps a day or two. You are sure that the employee that started with the company a couple of days ago is much better suited for this endeavor. You fully believe your time, energy, talents/skills would be better spent doing something else. What are you going to do?

FenderTL5 said:

I will agree with the majority that going into churches is at the minimum bad protocol. I don't know if it is illegal, but willing to see it as a possibility, perhaps case by case.
That said, I don't think it was coincidental that this event (stunt) took place after policy changes were made by Homeland Security.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens.. in America’s schools and churches.."

This is bad policy and as some have argued, may be illegal.

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I disagree, whatever is meant by "churches", I'm glad the Feds "check" the churches. Too many abuses by "churches", again, whatever that means.

Luke81718 said:

You know what. I just realized that I'm arguing with someone who is gullible enough to actually believe that NASA put a man on the moon.
I'll have a little chuckle at your expense and move on if that's OK with you.
There's no fool like an old fool, or so its said.
You keep clinging to your delusions and I will get back to doing more productive things.
Peace Neighbor

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And now you will do what every flat earther does when they can't respond rationally.

JohnClay said:

It sounds to me like Jesus was a blank slate that talked to God (Father/Holy Spirit) to get his knowledge. If he knew everything already he could have done that Temple thing as a 3 year old.

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Jesus was fully God, so nothing about His divine nature or divine knowledge ever disappeared. But in becoming fully human, He voluntarily chose not to use or exercise the full range of that divine knowledge at every moment. Philippians 2:7 describes this as “emptying Himself,” meaning He laid aside divine privilege, not divine identity. Because He lived as a real human, He truly understood human limitation, weakness, learning, and depen

Hvizsgyak said:

Hey, you leave Big Foot Alone - He exists - somewhere.

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I was walking in the park early one morning and someone had been running in the snow in their bare feet. They made kind of an amazing long jump. The sun came out, the snow melted and I was the only one that saw that. They were not big footprints though. More like a size 9.

Firstlightdawn said:

The point seems to be that God extended the daylight in a way that doesn’t match anything we see in nature. Science describes how creation normally behaves; a miracle is God acting outside those normal patterns. So I’m simply taking the passage as a supernatural event rather than trying to fit it into a natural explanation.

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Stopping the rotation of the earth or stopping time itself are supernatural events. What on earth did you think we were claiming it to be?

stevevw said:

Why is my spectulating a concoction and yours is not.

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Because my interpretation is supported by the plain text. That she thought ICE would come and talk to them later. I'm perfectly fine with any place or any time where ICE comes and talk to them, not them going to talk with ICE. This belies that they planned to seek out ICE later.

stevevw said:

Why can't it also be reasonable to think that Rebecca could still think the ICE were coming to them later. Except not at home but while protesting later.

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Because that is an extra assumption, that they will be protesting later. She could have meant at home or at work or even at another protest.

stevevw said:

There is also nothing in the text that suggests she meant the ICE officers were going to visit them because they were in trouble or would be charged.

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My interpretation does not rely on more than it is ICE coming to them to talk later instead of them coming to ICE.

stevevw said:

They were already breaching the law and were not being charged. The officers were overlooking any charges and have done this often. So if you can assume your interpretation then others can likewise assume theirs. Neither have any text that supports them.\

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Perhaps charges can be brought after the fact, perhaps she suspected that they would get a stern talking-to? Remember how this started, you were making claims not I. You presented your interpretation as true already in post #185. You tried to support it with some questionable quoting. I questioned that.

stevevw said:

Nor were a number of of factors that did not come out at first and came out later. Some very important. Like the words from Renees partner. Like that the couple were agitating officers earlier and planned to do the same later that day.

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This is not supported by a plain reading of the text. There is nothing in the text talking about earlier or later actions from Renee and her wife.

stevevw said:

If anything I think there is some support that "later" meant after lunch. After Rebecca says their plates will be the same when they see them later. She then says From your link
“You want to come at us? You want to come at us? I say go get yourself some lunch, big boy.

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How does this imply that they will see them after lunch at all? There is nothing in those word that says they will see them after lunch.

stevevw said:

I assume she is telling them to go away and leave them alone at the time. Go away and come back later. Cool down big boy and take time out.

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Why? There is no statement of intent that they will see them after lunch in that text. It does not imply that they will be there after an eventual lunch.

stevevw said:

But as we keep saying this is spectulating which is now reaching a point where it is not worth discussing anymore until more info comes out. Its just going to be one interpretation or another.

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As I said, you tried to present it as much more than your interpretation initially, you presented it as if it was true.

Pommer said:

Oh, there’s cancer…we all “have cancer” but most times our immune system deals with it. When our body fails at this is when we “get” cancer.

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not quiet, various versions of cancer are quiet apt at hiding, cancer is caused by mutations to genes some from chemicals, some from the sun, and some because your born with the prelude to cancer.

ThatRobGuy said:

Certain border states have had checkpoints in the past

The legal framework governing that came from Supreme Court cases like United States v. Brignoni in the 70s.

United States v. Brignoni-Ponce - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Brignoni-Ponce set the rule that apparent Mexican ancestry can be one of the factors in forming a reasonable suspicion for stopping a vehicle, but cannot be the sole basis for an immigration stop. In Vasquez-Perdomo, the Court, through Justice Kavanaugh's concurrence, agreed that apparent ethnicity alone cannot furnish reasonable suspicion for immigration stops, but it can be a relevant factor when considered along with other salient features. The Court agrees that (i) presence at particular locations such as bus stops, car washes, day laborer pickup sites, agricultural sites, and the like; (ii) the type of work one does; (iii) speaking Spanish or speaking English with an accent are all relevant factors that may be considered along with ethnicity.


Or in plain terms...

If an officer's primary area of focus is finding undocumented people in the country, given the nation of origin for a huge percentage undocumented folks are nations of Latino ethnicity and Spanish speaking, and in a metropolitan area that's designated itself as a safe haven and refuge for undocumented people, the Latino guy with an accent is more likely than the white guy with the typical Minnesota accent to be someone who falls into the undocumented category when it comes to who's getting questioned.

Superficial? Sure, but it's not like those perceptions came out of thin air.


If you were on a task force looking to crack down on drug use, and you saw these two people standing in a parking lot:
View attachment 375614

And this guy:
View attachment 375615

Which one are you leaning towards as being the person you're going to question?

Is it "judging a book by it's cover"? Yes, to a degree...but by the same token, there's a reason why books have covers.

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I saw this show once, Officer Hippie and Officer PrivateClub are partners who solve crimes.

Boomboomchucka said:

I believe Genesis, the historical record narrative is all about the "Personal" Creator and His intimacy in not only creation but among the lives of people.

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From the beginning God's desire was to become a part of His creation.

Now this is in the context of the teaching about how God tempts no one to sin and so we should not blame God if we should ever be tempted to sin. And if we are indeed tempted (led into) sin, and so we give in to that sin, it is not God’s fault but our own. Yet, as this continues on, there is a broader picture here beyond just what has already been spoken. We who believe in Jesus Christ serve an unchanging God. He is who he has always been and always will be, so he does not teach one thing and then teach the opposite.

So, what this means for us, when we are studying the Scriptures, especially the ones taught under the New Covenant relationship God has with his people Israel (Jew and Gentile by faith in Jesus Christ), is that when the Scriptures appear to us to contradict each other, we should not just go with the one which we like the best because it makes us feel good or because it doesn’t seem as severe as the others. But we should compare Scripture with Scripture and we must read them in their appropriate biblical context, too.

For many people are misinterpreting the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles, largely because they are being taught Scriptures out of their appropriate biblical context, and so they are getting a distorted message which will, thus, not agree with other Scriptures which teach the opposite. And so many people ignore the Scriptures they don’t like, and they embrace the ones taught out of context, because they give them more freedom to live however they want to live while assuring them of salvation.

But God does not teach us that faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God and not from human flesh, is just words we say in a prayer to receive Christ and now we are forgiven all sins and heaven is guaranteed us when we die. Yet, that is the “gospel” message which appears the majority are teaching today and that the majority are believing. Yet, God teaches us that faith, which is of God, must result in us denying self, dying to sin daily, by the Spirit, and us walking (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

Now this does not mean if we should ever sin just once that we are cut off from God. God does not demand that we remain sinless, but he does instruct us that we are no longer to make sin our practice, and that obedience to our Lord and to his commands must now be what we practice, in the power of God (see 1 John 2:1-6). And this is not permission to sin, but it is a recognition that we might sin sometime. However, if sin is our habit, and not obedience to our Lord’s commands, we do not have eternal life with God.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Acts 26:18]

So, please take this to heart, for where we will spend eternity depends on us believing and living the truth of the gospel, and not the lies of Satan.

Living Sacrifices

Based off Romans 12:1-2; Romans 6:11-14 NIV
An Original Work / September 14, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you,
In view of God’s mercy,
To give yourselves to God in love
As living offerings,
Pleasing to God, holy in love.
This is your true worship.
Do not conform to worldly lives.
Let God transform you today.
Then you’ll be able to
Test and approve of what
God’s will is – His pleasing
And perfect will. Oh, holy ones,
I counsel you – Offer yourselves unto God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –
Do not be conceited.
Humble yourselves before your God.
Do not be self-righteous.
The strength you have to live in love
Comes from your Lord God, so
Live your new lives in pow’r of God.
Be changed in heart, mind and will.
Do this because of what
Christ did for you when
He died on the cross to save
The world from sin. Oh, holy ones,
I counsel you – Humble yourselves before God.

Oh, holy ones, I counsel you –
Count yourselves dead to sin,
But be alive to God in Christ.
Do not let sin reign in
Your earthly lives so you
Obey its evil desires.
Offer yourselves unto your God
As those who’ve been born again.
For sin shall no longer be
Your lord and master.
Give of yourselves to God
For righteousness. Oh, holy ones,
I counsel you – Be alive to God in Christ.

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No Variation or Shifting Shadow
An Original Work / January 23, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

keras said:

Isaiah 29:9-12 If you confuse yourself, you will stay confused.....for the Lord has poured on you a spirit of deep stupor. The Prophetic vision of it all has become for you like the words in a sealed book. ......
Isaiah 42:19-20 Who is so blind but My servant? ....the one who has My trust... so deaf as the servant of the Lord. You have seen much, but perceived little, your ears are open, but you hear nothing. REBible

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That doesn't prove that God's children - followers of the Good Shepherd who said that nothing can snatch us from God's hand - have been locked into false beliefs.
Most of us have the NT.

keras said:

It is perfectly evident from the proliferation of theories, ideas and plain guesswork, that there is much confusion among Christians as to what God has planned for our future.

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Including you.
The only unity I have found on this subject is that nearly everyone disagrees with you.

keras said:

In ancient times, the Lord led his chosen people into the Promised Land.

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Spiritually, we, who have every spiritual blessing in Christ, are already in the Promised Land - the kingdom of God.

keras said:

Now: there is coming a great Second Exodus,

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The second exodus was at the cross - where forgiveness and reconciliation with God were made possible and sin and eternal death were defeated.
Because of the cross we have peace with God, Romans 5:1 and reconciliation, Romans 5:11, 2 Corinthians 5:18. If we are in Christ we have become new creations, 2 Corinthians 5:17, God's children, John 1:12 and have every spiritual blessing, Ephesians 1:3. Jesus' blood is of the NEW Covenant, Matthew 26:28. He is our ransom, Mark 10:45, our Saviour, Acts 4:12, the Lamb of God, John 1:29, 1 Peter 1:19 and the Passover Lamb, 1 Corinthians 5:7. He told his disciples to "do this in memory of him", Luke 22:19 and he is greater than Moses, Hebrews 3:3.
Jesus has bought us with a price, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, we belong to God and have eternal life. Wherever we go, or live, God in with us, for us and in us.
Most Christians have, and believe, the NT.

keras said:

God will have what He always wanted,- a faithful people

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He already has that in Christians - people who accept, follow, love and trust his Son though we have never seen him.
The Kingdom of God is greater, and more important, than a piece of actual land.
Jesus said that his disciples are light for the world and his witnesses.

Sunday roast

d taylor said:

-

​

Loving Jesus with all your heart, soul, mind and energy. Is not a condition a person needs to do, to receive God's free gift of Eternal Life

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Praise God that it is not a condition for salvation, because nobody could keep such a command perfectly. However, once a sinner is saved, surely it should be their aim to live closer and closer to the way God would have them be, that is, sanctification.

DragonFox91 said:

Well not all people who call themselves Protestants think the same, but I think they were right

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I agree that not all Protestants think the same about the Puritans. That being so, how can you believe that all of them are right?